An iPad dock really changes things and makes it more professional to use in a studio environment. Alesis and Focusrite make them. I picked up a second hand one on eBay. For a third of the original price, making it attractive. It is not something that one would normally think about. It gives you access to Midi and audio IN/OUT via external connectors. The internal D/A in the iPad is bypassed and that is provided for in the dock. So when Focusrite is handling that job, it is a different sound. The iPad is charged of course in the dock too.
I started using it as a synth and it performs very nicely in that area. Delivering a big quality sound to my synth mixer along with everything else. A +4 dBu signal mostly and very quiet, on balanced outputs. It also runs those great remote control apps like the one for Studio One. And it works great. Especially for me playing in drum parts and taking control of my studio in another room. It can mount next to me.
Some synths like
iOS Synthmaster for example offer large dual X/Y pads and I have become custom to using them. I found once I got into this I could not go back. It is very cool to play. It responds super fast as well. The trick is to put the iPad and its dock onto a nice stand angled up further. It sits on my main table and all I have to do is slide it out to play it. It is the perfect size for being stored away out of sight or pulled forward and used as a controller or synth. Your moves can recorded, edited and played back. The pads send midi to the rest of my system via the midi outs. I have found editing synth sounds also rather quick and easy using the iPad. Korg MS20 and Polysix are very nice to edit their patches etc.. The whole touch thing here works very nicely. I have got into editing say an MS20 patch like I did when I owned it. It encourages you to experiment. The iPad feels the same. The GUI's are nice and so sharp and detailed. You can zoom right into controls on many synth apps. The whole image looks nicer to me. Some synth apps look much nicer than their Windows counterparts.
(MS20 is a serious floor shaker and Polysix sounds so close it is almost majestic. Synthmaster sounds ridiculous and now I have added PPG Infinite which is one of the nicest sounding instruments I own in my whole setup!) You can surf the net too and any music you may be listening too is coming out sounding rather spectacular to say the least.
(For music production tutorials this is a must!) It is great having it close to your main machine's screen as well. And if that is an iMac
(as I have Studio One installed and running on two computers), then it is even more powerful. It is also handy to have around as you can run any tutorials or leaning tools on the iPad, hear it all in high fidelity but have your main machine totally free to follow what is going on.
There are new apps now too like a recent one that turns the iPad into a super keyboard command controller and overall control surface for a host of DAW's including mine. In my case it can sit directly above my QWERTY keyboard and next to a Presonus Faderport which is also an amazing tool to have in close proximity to the iPad.
Out and away from the studio all I have to do is add a small keyboard, phones, a mic and you can record direct to DI inputs too. It's a full blown studio outside on location. I take this away on holidays sometimes at the ready just in case I get an idea. The dock can be powered from a solar panel too and it will power the mentioned devices and run for hours. You can plug in two mics or a stereo mic capturing quality sound effects atmospheric and foley like sounds too. Far easier too use and see than a tiny Zoom for example. Have they ever made a pro audio dock for a Windows tablet?